THE PENTAGON'S PREDICTIVE AI: A GLANCE BACK

Originally published at: https://gizadeathstar.com/2024/08/the-pentagons-predictive-ai-a-glance-back/

Now, before you remind me that I’ve already blogged about this story a few years ago, let me explain my reasons for revisiting it, via this version of it that was shared by T.M. (with our thanks). Briefly put, the recent blog I did about artificial intelligence becoming locked into chains of “thinking” that eventually…

10 Likes

Dear Mr footnote, with regard to this assertion “The program analyzes massive amounts of statistics, and the computer generates so much heat it requires a cooling reservoir the size of Lake Erie to keep the computer from meltdown.” - This seems like an hyperbole, but it’s true that an AI search uses more energy than a regular search. And the AI results are mediocre, slightly better than general search, but the grammar is pretty good, better than mine.
So we can now swim and vacation at the Lake Erie hot spring in winter? Like the Icelandic blue lagoon? Cool.

If the cooling costs get too high will we tithe to mother AI? What if we paid for search? Would it be better?
How many solar panels are needed to support my fantasy football habit?

Rest assured the deliverable for the government expenditures on AI is briefing slides.

2 Likes

Deliverable…haven’t heard that in a while. It reminded me of a meeting with a scientist whose work was getting de-funded due to no progress. In his defense he said “But we’re getting good data!”

Your point is well taken, there’s a good chance we’re just throwing money at phantom progress. But you can’t not do the investigation, right…the other guys are doing it, right (like gain of function). We can’t let them get ahead… That’s how it all works.

1 Like

…you’re kidding, right? “…seems like an hyperbole”? I would aver that it’s fairly clear that it IS a hyperbole, unless I missed something in geometry or rhetoric.

1 Like

I envisioned terraforming with the heat and started to look for the link and then it dawned on me

data centers with a winter beach

1 Like

Nobody is building these data centers in Canada or Antartica, as far as I am aware. E. Musk is building one in Memphis TN. Interesting choice. Is there a super abundant source of energy to support that center in that particular location?
Not a rhetorical question, ideas and responses are welcome.

In looking forward, what if the monster is already out of control? What if the power draw of not only data centers, but block chain, then CBDC collapse power grids across the planet?

2 Likes

From an article about Elon Musk’s xAI Memphis data center:

"The facility will be a ‘Gigafactory of Compute,’ according to Musk, who said that he aims to have it up and running by fall 2025. “My vision is to build the world’s largest and most powerful supercomputer, and I’m willing to put it in Memphis,” Musk said.

It is not known how large the initial phase of the project would be, or how much it will cost.

Musk has claimed that xAI will deploy a 100,000 H100 liquid-cooled training cluster within the next few months, and another 300,000 GPU B200 cluster from next summer.

xAI is believed to currently rent around 16,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs from Oracle Cloud. It also uses Amazon Web Services and spare capacity at X/Twitter data centers."

So, how is Musk planning to cool all of those clusters? Some sort of substantial heat exchanger is needed. Perhaps the nearby Mississippi River is why he selected Memphis. Or maybe a farm of industrial chillers, which, like any refrigeration units, consume a healthy amount of utility power.

1 Like

I would not want to spend big money on heat exchangers and pump water from big muddy through them. It would probably take a water treatment plant the size for a small city to clean the water up enough to not contaminate the heat exchangers. Does Memphis sit on a big aquifer? Maybe well water would be cheaper. And recall the Mississippi almost dried up in some parts during the recent draught.

2 Likes

@XSEXCESS @sharick good questions guys. Cooling is one thing, how about providing source of energy to power this project? Is there a nuclear power plant nearby or new one being built?

GIDE sound’s like the today’s version of “SkyNet” It just goes to show that the maxim “yesterday’s fiction is today’s reality” is a valid statement of fact.

… Beaver, another of a similar item to go along with yours …

2 Likes

Another interesting connection … This is an end card from a 2 part episode of The Rockford Files entitled “The House on Willis Avenue” the plot of which involved the creation of massive PRIVATE data centers. And here is the astonishing part, it was written in 1978. Nothing new under the sun …

4 Likes

Always good to look at a map. West Memphis is Arkansas.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-07-25/in-memphis-elon-musk-s-xai-supercomputer-stirs-hope-and-concern

3 Likes

It just dawned on me that Musk in interview when talking about location, had emphasized "Memphis like the capital of Egypt "
Don’t we have a separate underground city under ancient Memphis in Egypt?
When speaking about breakaway civilization, most think underground bases in Colorado, New Mexico generally Rockies.
How about west slopes of Appalachians? Yes that’s more Huntsville AL, where South-COM has location and it’s only 200miles from Memphis🤫

1 Like

He may also be talking about the pyramid that is at the main bridge going into the city - (Bass Pro Shops) . Who knows why Bass Pro Shops chose that configuration…

1 Like

Indeed it is. Thank you @Scarmoge

Chris Martenson (Peak Prosperity) has also taken note of the proliferation / urgency to build datacenters. Here’s the first of his posts on this topic. Some interesting observations including the DOE embrace of nuculer (sorry GB) power to run them. Clearly there’s a new strategery (again) involved in this policy.

Why the Explosive Rush To Build Data Centers? - Peak Prosperity (youtube.com)

1 Like